Modern Homemakers
8 Dad-Certified Household Hacks To Maintain The House
Here are some household hacks for dads who want to help moms maintain the house without messing up the rhythm.
We moms have a system when it comes to fixing up the house. But that carefully-made system is not always beginner-friendly. Some of us expect our system to be common sense which can get us into a lot of arguments with dad. So, dads, we’ve come up with a few household hacks for you that some other dads have done to make sure they can help maintain the house with mom.
Easiest Household Hack: Gravy Containers for Loose Change
Parking tickets in malls don’t accept digital payment yet so the little holes in the car are slowly getting filled with loose change. And if the kids love KFC or Kenny Rogers’ gravy a little too much then, there are probably a lot of gravy containers lying around. All it takes is a bit of washing. Add some warm water, soap the gravy container at least twice (unless you want your change to smell like chicken), and then just place it in the car to collect loose change. Not only is it an eco-friendly household hack but also less annoying for moms to come into a messy car.
Car additive spray bottles are useful!
Cars have a lot of additives, ranging from Car Shampoo to Armor-All for tires. But the fun part of these car additives and implements is that they come in spray bottles which come in handy as a household hack if mom’s looking for more bottles to load with alcohol or any cleaning implement. Just make sure that they’re well-washed and clean since some of those car implements are oil-based. Besides, the plastic used for those spray bottles is possibly higher grade since they’re made to contain stronger chemicals.
Whiting up some rubber shoes? Toothpaste + old Toothbrush
If your kids are wearing white rubber shoes and love running through the dirt, moms will most likely be stressed to clean up after them. There’s no need to buy an expensive whitening solution. For this household hack, we can take a page from some of the athletes. Some athletes just whip out an old toothbrush and toothpaste to whiten the shoes. If it can whiten teeth, it can whiten some rubber shoes.
Lotion to preserve leather furniture
Genuine leather or synthetic leather behaves like real skin so how do you stop it from cracking? Some dads pull out the ever-trusty Vaseline lotion for this furniture household hack. It’s cheap, easy to find in the supermarket, and not so toxic to humans. All it takes is a teaspoon to rub it into the leather furniture so the leather stays soft. Saves money on upholstering chairs too after they crack.
Brightening up the lights? Use some foil.
Instead of buying higher wattage lights, grab some foil that probably came from the takeout. With a little washing and soaping, the foil can be wrapped inside the light casing to create a reflector. It might take some smoothening out to remove the creases but the foil does just as well and is much cheaper than buying a new light casing. At least for this household hack, there’s a lot less for mom to throw out and she has a brighter workspace.
Not enough internet range? Get a range extender or a repeater
This might need a little money but there are times that mom might want to use the internet while in the kitchen or outside the house. Silicon Valley or Octagon has repeaters that are easy to just plug and play. Since mom might be too busy to read the manual, it’ll be up to you to figure out how to program it. If you’re not sure, we’re sure our digital native kids can help you figure it out.
Termites attacking the house? Grab some oranges!
Old houses made from wood are the usual targets for termites. Especially when it gets humid, that’s when termites attack. There was a study done at Texas University by Valerie Savino that showed that termites could not stand orange oils! Her study revealed that once they came in contact, they died. The secret ingredient lies in D-Limonene which is oil also found in lemon and calamansi. It’s an organic household hack that’s safe for pets, too! Malathione’s the usual pest-killer but contains cyanide which is a neurotoxin that’s not safe for pets or people.
Spread some Joy to Ants!
Since ants don’t spark or spread joy to our pantries, it’s time we spread some Joy to them. A teaspoon of Joy dishwashing soap mixed in with 500 mL water ought to do it. Using the old car additive spray bottles, it’s easy for you to store plus no need to buy some fancy ant-killer. This household hack’s perfect even for cleaning the bathroom in case someone who has diabetes decides to relieve themselves in the bathroom.
Help out with these household hacks without breaking the rhythm!
One of the few reasons why moms don’t ask others to help in the house is that they have an established schedule and rhythm. Any form of interference — whether good or bad — can get them anxious because now there’s no control or they’re not sure if it was done right. But not to worry, these household hacks are tried-and-tested so mom doesn’t need to worry about it too much.
More household stuff? Here’s more!
Household Management: 10 Tips in Choosing and Dealing with Household Help
8 Reasons Why You Need To Keep Your Kitchen Neat
4 Important Qualities of Every Mom’s Dream Kitchen
